


Reconnection

by cassacain



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Literally so fluffy, jaybabs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 08:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14807873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassacain/pseuds/cassacain
Summary: Barbara Gordon, better known as Oracle, has quickly used her skills to become one of the most integral assets to the superhero community. Despite her hard work mentoring the younger members of the bat family, Barbara realizes that she's overlooked Jason Todd, who, after his resurrection and recent estrangement from Batman, might need the most help.





	Reconnection

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I'm not sure where this is set. Jason's story is right after the Under The Red Hood storyline, but we've got Cassandra Cain as Batgirl and Tim Drake as Red Robin, so I guess it's just a mash-up...sorry if that's confusing.
> 
> Also, trigger warnings for mentions of Cass' suicidal streak and Dick's sexual assault experiences.

“Who’s Jason Todd?”

The question caught Barbara Gordon off-guard, mid coffee sip, and she would have choked on it if she wasn’t used to Cassandra’s jarring topic changes. After all, she was far from a skilled conversationalist.

Recovering, Barbara sat her green mug down and maneuvered her wheelchair away from her computer, where she was playing internet games yet again because, for once in a blue moon, she’d finished all her work. Crazy, right?

She smiled at Cassandra when she saw her, leaning against the counter with a towel around her neck, sweat glistening on her temples and a water bottle in her hand. She’d been working out all evening, all afternoon, maybe all day? Barbara hadn’t been keeping good track, but she knew Cassandra had been her Clocktower buddy since sometime after lunch. How the hours blended together when one sat in a dark room all day, catching up on work and goofing off intermittently.

Biting her lip, Barbara refocused onto the question. Jason Todd.

“What brings this up?” Barbara asked, and Cassandra walked smoothly over her. Recently, Cassandra had developed a preference for leggings, and she currently wore a sparkly purple pair matched with a black sports bra.

Cassandra sat on her desk, glancing at the computer before looking down at Barbara. “I’ve met him several times, seen Red Hood on the field, and in his body language…he’s hurting.”

He’s hurting. Barbara’s chest tightened at those words, and she thought of the sassy Robin who used to constantly be on her nerves. She thought of the funeral, the first real hard loss she’d ever gone through. Of course Jason Todd was hurting, but hearing confirmation of that from Cassandra didn’t make bearing it any easier.

Cassandra frowned at her. “You hurt too, now?” She asked, gently placing her palm on Barbara’s shoulder. Barbara shook her head.

“In a way, Cass. Jason was the second Robin, he died on the field. I knew him pretty well.”

“He gave his life for the cause?” Cassandra asked, a note of admiration in her voice, and Barbara bit her lip. Lately, she’d noticed that borderline-suicidal streak Cassandra had, like she enjoyed the idea of self-sacrifice. She needed to keep an eye on that.

In the meantime, there was the question about Jason. Jason Todd, complex as he was, had always felt simple to Barbara. He had a difficult childhood, but he was a good kid, and, despite everything that had happened to him, he’d become what she'd call a good man.

But how did she explain the morally gray Jason Todd to the strictly black-and-white Cassandra Cain?

Barbara tucked her bob back behind her ear and smiled up at Cassandra, examining the girl through her glasses.

“Jason loved books and having fun. He pulled pranks and had a smart mouth, and, when he was Robin, he fought hard. Sometimes, too hard. He could be brutal, and he still is. Jason’s like you; in his childhood, he experienced insane cruelty and darkness. But he reacted to it differently than you, so he took a different path.”

“He experienced different things than I did too?” Cassandra asked, wisely. Barbara was occasionally guilty of forgetting just how intelligent Cassandra was. When one dealt with geniuses like Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne on the daily, Cassandra’s quiet, instinctual intelligence slipped by too easily.

“Yeah, he did. Jason lived on the streets and sometimes he starved. He didn’t have someone protecting him or keeping his best interests in mind. He saw a lot of death and criminals killing each other. In some ways, it numbed him to death, and, in other ways, he understands death the best out of any of us, besides maybe you.”

“That’s why he kills?” Cassandra asked, insistently.

Barbara cocked her head. “I don’t know.” She answered. “I just know his mission is different from Batman’s, and, in some ways, it works. In other ways, it’s torn him apart.”

As Barbara finished speaking, she found Cassandra had an unreadable expression on her face, and she could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she processed what Barbara had said.

“Okay.” Cassandra said, hopping off of her desk and striding across the room. She grabbed her hoodie off the floor, tugging it over her head.

“Where are you going?” Barbara called.

“Out!” Cassandra shouted amicably in return, the door slapping shut behind her, and Barbara felt a sudden strain of sympathy for her dad. Dealing with teenagers was hard.

Barbara shook her head, turning back to her video game. She suspected Cassandra was heading out to ask Bruce more about Jason, or maybe Alfred. She hoped Cassandra found the answer she was looking for, and, in the meantime, she pressed play on her video game.

It felt good to dominate PC games. Barbara felt a petty pride when she saw her name at the top of the scoreboard for different online games, and she would aggressively defend her title and work her way up the scoreboard when she wasn’t high enough. There was a level of satisfaction in how easy and straightforward video games were.

She was self-conscious enough to realize she used them as an escape, just like she used TV and reading. At times, her life could be overwhelming. It wasn’t the paralysis—she’d long since accepted it and she appreciated her life as Oracle, where she saved more people than ever before, held an integral position in the superhero community that commanded even Batman’s respect, and could mentor young vigilantes—it was just life.

It seemed all the time, Barbara had work to do. Every superhero had her number, and she had more than one vigilante she was trying to mentor. Unlike her role as Batgirl, Oracle went beyond the bat family, and she had her own team to run: the Birds of Prey.

However, the bat family was still her roots, and she would always, always value them in her heart. That was why she happily guided the younger vigilantes, like Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Tim Drake. She would always support them and be proud of their accomplishments, while being simultaneously grateful that she was past that stage of her life, the stage when she had to fight for Batman’s acknowledgement like Stephanie, struggle to find her place in the world like Cassandra, or train relentlessly to become a Batman-sanctioned martial artist like Tim.

With the younger ones, it was easy. She gave advice, she lent supplies, she guided them over the comms. She answered questions and offered emotional support and helped them train. In the case of Harper Row, she helped them transition out of vigilante life and back into an ordinary life.

But then there were the vigilantes of her own generation, the ones she couldn’t do as much about. She couldn’t yell at Dick Grayson that sexual assault was serious, he needed therapy, and that just because he can put up a good act and hold his pain inside doesn’t mean he should.

And if Dick wasn’t about to listen to her, who in God’s name would ever think that Jason Todd would welcome her advice? Jason Todd, someone she always had and always would care deeply for, yet she wasn’t sure how she could ever hope to help him. Jason didn’t need supplies and didn’t have questions. He didn’t contact her on his comms crying because Batman told him he wanted him off the streets; no, Jason dealt with that himself, without ever going to Barbara for guidance.

Barbara just didn’t know if he didn’t need her like Stephanie did, or if he just didn’t think she would welcome him in.

With everything going on in her life, it was almost easy for her to forget the question of Jason Todd. But, no one was trying to contact her, and she was spending the evening playing video games, not working, and…

Now was a good a time as any, Barbara realized starkly. She nibbled her lower lip again before taking a long drink from her coffee mug and dialing Bruce’s number.

The answer was a vaguely annoyed, “Hello?”

“Bruce, it’s me. I was wondering, has Jason given you any contact information?” Barbara asked as she pulled out a notebook and grabbed a pen. She flipped past Cassandra’s shaky letters to a blank page, clicking her pen and readying herself to write.

“This is the second question I’ve gotten today about Jason. What’s going on?” Bruce asked, slightly defensive but mainly confused.

As Barbara had thought, Cassandra went to the source. Barbara imagined Bruce had gotten somber when she asked him, as he always did. Jason was a sore subject for him, what with them still being estranged and all.

“Cassandra asked me about him and I just was wondering if you had his number, just in case I needed to contact him.”

At those words, Barbara heard Bruce sigh. He sounded tired and increasingly sad, as though every second spent discussing Jason was a jabbing reminder that his son hated him and wore the bat on his chest as he shot criminals down in order to purposefully twist the meaning accompanying the symbol. The symbol that Bruce had dedicated his life to, and accidentally given Jason’s life for.

Of course Jason Todd was a freaking sore subject for Bruce.

“Jason…didn't leave me a lot the last time we spoke. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want anything to do with me. But he did give me the number to his cell phone.”  


Bingo! That saved Barbara a lot of work. One way or another, she would have been able to get ahold of Jason, but this was easier and probably a lot less invasive. She wrote the number down as Bruce read it out to her.

“Thanks, Bruce,” she said as he finished, lying her pencil down.

“Yeah, Barbara, it’s no problem, just…” he trailed off, his silence heavy with meaning. Barbara picked the pen back up and spun it around her fingers, an old nervous habit from high school. “I know you’re going to contact him. Let me know how he is.”

She felt a wave of pity wash over her, and she was reminded of when she’d kept her father at arm’s length, something she was still guilty of. Never underestimate a parent’s love, even in as complex a situation as the one existing between Bruce and Jason.

“Okay, Bruce. I’ll give you a call.” She said, before ending the call. She looked down at the numbers scratched across the top of the paper, the numbers Bruce somehow got ahold of, whether Jason actually gave them to him or not. 

She tapped the table, spinning the pen faster and faster around her fingers. Then she slammed the pen down and picked her phone up, dialing and pressing call before she could hesitate.

Across Gotham, in the belly of the Narrows, a phone rang. Jason Todd was sitting on his leather couch in his pristinely-organized apartment, a box of Chinese takeout in his lap. Jason finished slurping his noodles up before lazily walking to his bag, pushing a few books aside and digging out his social phone. He imagined it was Kyle Rayner calling, probably canceling their monthly coffee because he was in space.

Jason saw an unidentified number and frowned. In his line of work, unknown callers were typically supervillains. Hesitantly, he picked up the phone, all while eying the nearest exit to his apartment.

“Who is this?” Jason answered snappily, half-expecting Black Mask’s crone, but also imagining a telemarketer’s cheerful drawl. Either one fit Jason’s definition of unspeakable evil, albeit in different ways.

Instead of either, he heard a familiar voice. “Jason?”

He had that nauseating flash of recognition where he couldn’t immediately place whose voice it was, but knew that it was distinctly feminine and it sounded like honey tasted, dripping with concern and some type of nervousness, like the owner of the voice was scared of rejection. Jason’s thoughts became a whirlwind of confusion and, belatedly, excitement.

He let out a disbelieving scoff. “Barbara?” He asked.

Barbara could hear the surprise in his voice. She ran a hand through her hair and let out a breathy laugh. Jason’s voice had changed with puberty, deepening a lot so he sounded more akin to Bruce than his own self back when he was Robin.

“Hey,” she said, realizing she’d allowed a gap of silence for too long. He hadn’t hung up, which was a good sign. “Jason, it’s been forever, I just…well, I was wondering what you’re doing right now?”

Jason looked down at the Red Hood outfit he still had on from a day of helping Kori and Roy out. He quickly began unlatching the belt and shrugging the jacket off, before removing his body armor. As he hopped around his apartment quickly redressing in civvies, his old crush on Barbara manifested as butterflies in his stomach. He didn’t even know he could get stomach butterflies anymore, but all of a sudden he felt like Robin again, watching the incredible Batgirl slam through criminals way above her weight class. “Nothing, just sitting at home. What about you, Barbie?”

Barbie. How long had it been since she’d heard him call her Barbie? She felt tears rise up instantly but she stamped them down angrily, not wanting to let herself get worked up. She should have contacted Jason sooner. “I’m free tonight. I was wondering, did you want to maybe get something to eat?” She spun her pen in circles around her fingers as she waited for his response.

On the other end of the line, Jason had his pants half-on and a gigantic grin on his face. Maybe it wasn’t a date, but it was still Barbie asking him to dinner. It took his cat running by for his brain to restart. “Well, I have to eat either way.” He said, despite the takeout he'd just devoured.

Barbara got the joke and laughed musically like she would back when he was Robin and she was Batgirl. The bittersweet wave of potent nostalgia could have killed him.

“Well, if you’re eating either way, I’ll tag along. What do you say to Olive Garden in a half hour?”

“Thirty-fifth street?”

Barbara grinned. “Where else?”

“See you there, Barbie.” Click. Barbara held the phone against her cheek for a moment, then she moved it to her chest, just above her heart. She was smiling, but her smile fell. The easy part was over, but there were still things to consider: Jason wasn’t a child in need of her help, he was an adult she wanted to befriend. But unlike Black Canary, or really any of her other adult superhero friends, Jason was at odds with almost everyone close to her, including Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin…

Barbara sighed, turning her wheelchair and heading to her closet. She couldn’t go out in sweatpants, so she figured jeans and a simple but nice striped shirt should work. She ran a brush through her hair, outlined her eyes with eyeliner, and fluffed her eyelashes up with mascara.

She looked a tad pale, so she dabbed on some blush. Call her vain, but she hadn’t seen Jason for so long and, though it might have been silly, it mattered that the first time he saw her in a wheelchair he didn’t think she was a far cry from his memory of Batgirl.

It was stupid, she told herself, but she didn’t rub the subtle makeup off. Instead, she headed out, purse in tow alongside her disguised weaponry, hidden under her wheelchair. One never knew what may happen in Gotham.

Barbara wasn’t the first to reach Olive Garden. Rolling up the sidewalk, she looked in to see Jason sitting at a table for two, the adjacent chair pushed to another table. That little act of courtesy warmed her heart.

More than that, Jason had dressed up. He wore dark jeans and a button up, his hair well-combed. He stared ahead of him, looking conflicted and maybe a little confused, but very alone. Barbara knew that Jason’s old friends in the superhero community had reached out to him, but she also understood how difficult it would be to rejoin them, especially considering he fought with Batman and the bat family and Batman’s presence in the superhero community was large, to say the least.

Barbara imagined that Jason was very lonely, and missing his family. Batman was the only real parent he’d ever known, and he’d disowned him at the cost of Alfred, Dick, and, until this moment, Barbara herself too.

Barbara took a breath, forcing herself to forget her guilt and head in. The door creaked when she wrenched it open, and Jason looked up and saw her immediately. He stood up, a remnant of manners Alfred drilled into him, as Barbara rolled over. He sat down, his cheeks turning red as though he already felt somewhat awkward.

Barbara offered him the widest grin she had. “Jason, you look great.” She said. Of course, he looked completely different, with the white streak in his hair and his taller, far more muscular body. Standing, he had easily been Bruce’s height, which had caught Barbara off-guard.

No matter. Jason grinned, examining her, “You haven’t changed at all, Barbie. Still have those guns, huh?” Barbara looked down at her arms, which were still as muscular as ever because of all the pull-ups she did. She couldn’t help but smile at the flattery, because, secretly, it meant a lot to her. Barbara knew that she was stronger since she pulled herself back together and became Oracle, but sometimes the looks of pity ate away at her and she could forget how proud she was of herself, disability and all.

She was relieved to know that Jason saw past that.

“I’ve kept up with my workouts,” she shrugged casually. “Have you ordered yet?”

“No, I figured I’d just wait. I did get us both waters though, I figured you could switch out if you didn’t want that…” he trailed off as though uncertain, and Barbara smiled at him.

“No, Jason, that’s perfect actually. I guess we should decide our orders first?”

It was lucky Barbara suggested that as not five minutes later a waiter arrived to take their order. Barbara got her usual alfredo dish, and Jason hesitantly asked for stuffed fettuccini. The waiter hurried off and Barbara turned to look at Jason with a smile.

“So, what’s life been like for you?” Barbara asked with a little half-smile, before absentmindedly taking a bite of a breadstick.

Truth be told, Barbara was every bit as gorgeous as she had been the last time he’d seen her. Her hair was short now, cut around her chin, and it made her freckles stand out along the bridge of her nose. Her hair was a deep orange with a slight wave to it, looking just as luscious as always, and her eyes were huge and blue.

Barbie couldn't stop being beautiful. He should have guessed that much, but it still left him feeling slightly inferior when he sat directly across from her. The effect she had on him was inadvertent but frustratingly persistent, and looking directly at her was like looking into the sun.

“Life’s been good. I feel a bit like a toothbrush scrubbing the scum off Gotham’s teeth.” He said, casually, and Barbara grinned. It was the kind of cheeseball line they would exchange back in the day, and, as always, he was interested to see how Barbara would return the banter.

“If you’re Gotham’s toothbrush then I’m the entire superhero community’s frigging google. I’ve been doing research for people as far as China.” Last week, Black Canary had run a mission that took her through Eastern Asia, and she’d kept Oracle on the line the entire time. If it had been anyone else, Barbara was sure that she would have cut off a lot earlier. But when it came to Dinah, she'd tolerate most anything. What a headache.

Jason let out a tiny chuckle. “Yeah, I heard a little about Oracle, the backbone of crime fighting. Kyle told me you turned off all of the power in Gotham one night.”

Barbara pointed a breadstick at him in warning. “That incident was entirely warranted.” She said, pulling a serious face. Jason cocked an eyebrow and she couldn’t help her laughter. He grinned, showing off pearly white teeth.

“Seriously though, I’m sure it was, Barbie. I know how things can get here.” He said, relenting. “I have to say, I’m impressed at what you did with Oracle…it’s entirely unprecedented, and it’s really changed the way vigilantism works.”

“Yeah, it’s actually organized now, with a huge drop in crime rates.” Barbara replied, proudly, before remembering that Jason’s work had also brought about a drop in crime, albeit only in Gotham. However, that didn’t make it any less impressive, especially considering Oracle had affected everywhere in the US outside Gotham but had only put a slight dent in Gotham’s crime rates.

Jason had slaughtered Gotham’s crime rates in a few months using brutal, but strategic, methods. He had an intelligent ploy, it just ignored a lot of what the Bat stood for.

The conversation was cut off before Jason could reply when the waiter arrived with their food, setting it down on the table quickly. Jason thanked him before Barbara could, and the waiter hustled off.

Jason and Barbara slowly began to eat, Barbara unsure of how to restart the conversation subtly.

Then, she figured she might as well go for it. Spinning alfredo noodles onto her fork and taking a huge bite, she leaned over and reached into her purse before setting an earpiece down on the table.

Jason looked up at her with a confused frown. Barbara smiled coquettishly at him before she began explaining herself.

“Jason,” she said, her voice tender, “I know it hasn’t been easy with Bruce. Hardly anything is; he spent my first months as Batgirl actively trying to get me to quit crime fighting. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of the bat family, and no matter what, I’m your friend. So, should you ever need me, or Oracle, you have that commlink right there.”

Jason stared at her quietly. His expression was distant, unreadable, and, for a scary moment, Barbara thought she’d offended him. He turned his face away, putting his hand to his mouth, and when he turned back he was obviously emotional.

He took the comms quietly, looking at them in his palm, before looking back up at her. “Thanks, Barbie.” He said, meaning it.

They were quiet for a moment after that, before Barbara picked the conversation back up, with books. Jason and Barbara had always had similar taste in books, partially because Barbara had helped shape his taste. She’d given him long lists of reading recommendations and he’d raced through them, which only challenged her to find more books.

They’d bonded over the years with passionate conversations about books she’d recommended. Sometimes, they agreed, and other times he surprised her with an interpretation she’d never expected. Jason was another crazy-smart member of the bat family, and he’d always been able to impress her by holding his own in a discussion with her.

Jason loved books, and, as it turned out, he’d kept up with his reading. They talked easily, discussing the best characters, plot points, and themes, laughing about funny moments and getting angry about poor movie interpretations of books they loved.

Jason had always been so easy for Barbara to talk to. He was light and happy and desperate to please, but he maintained a sense of autonomy no matter what. Unlike Dick, he absolutely refused to bend even a little bit to Bruce when he disagreed with him.

That wasn’t always a good thing for Jason, just like giving in hadn’t always been good for Dick. There was a reason Dick had moved out angrily and become Nightwing—everyone had a breaking point.

Bruce’s had been when Jason started killing, and now he and Jason were fighting. At least Dick and Bruce exchanged calls and visits, and, believe it or not, the occasional hug.

Jason was stranded.

Barbara and Jason must have sat there for a full hour before the waiter started dropping hints that he wanted them to leave. They each paid their own portions (Jason offered to pay hers, but she very determinedly said no; that felt too much like a date) and Jason stood and walked alongside her towards the door. The wheels felt rubbery and strange under her hands, even through the gloves she wore to keep her hands clean.

They reached the door and she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Jason?”

He turned towards her. “Barbie?” He echoed.

She smiled. “If you ever need to talk, just call, you have my number, okay?”

Jason looked at her, the door held open so the city shown behind him. His eyes were a deep, perfect brown, his hair dark and handsome, the blue of his polo shirt complimenting his deeply tanned skin.

He smiled softly. “You too, Barbie.” He said, before turning and walking off into the night. Barbara watched him go before she headed her own way, reaching the Clocktower before it got too late in the night.

She arrived back to find Cassandra suiting up. She turned as Barbara came in, greeting her with a mischievous smile before pulling her cowl on over her head.

“You’re happy.” Cassandra said.

“I’ve warned you a million times, Cass, it’s rude to read peoples’ body language.” Barbara teased as she moved past Cass. “Anyways, I hope you found your answers about Jason.”

Barbara watched Cassandra’s reactions to this very carefully. Cassandra tilted her head, before crossing the room to stand at Barbara’s side.

“Bruce loves Jason very much but is angry. Like you did, he says Jason likes to read. I don’t understand how; reading is the worst.”

That made Barbara laugh. “It’s hard to learn, Cassandra, but once you do it will be well worth it.”

Cassandra shrugged, unconvinced. “Bruce said other things, and so did Alfred. Jason likes chili dogs, motorcycles…” Cassandra trailed off, before reaching forward, running a hand through Barbara’s bob. “…redheads,” she said, her voice playful.

Barbara’s eyes shot open, her heart skipped a beat, and then she recovered. She pushed Cassandra’s hand away, shaking her head with a smile, “You are bad, Cassandra Cain, and you shouldn’t meddle.”

“No, I probably shouldn’t, but you came back happy. Dick says to be with whoever makes you happy.” Cassandra said, and Barbara could tell she was smirking under her mask. Barbara rolled her eyes, grinning.

“Right. I believe you have crime to fight, Batgirl, if you aren’t too busy matchmaking.” Barbara sassed, and Batgirl went to the window with a laugh, heading out into the night.

Barbara stretched out her arms, popping her fingers, before setting her computers up. She followed Batgirl on her cameras, and mused, pensively, that Cassandra likely felt that she had found the answer to her question.

Except, her question had left Barbara with a million of her own, and they all circulated around Jason, who had grown into his bad boy attitude. If she was being honest, he’d become insanely gorgeous, and she couldn’t help but notice that and wonder…

Why was it that she so badly wanted him to call?


End file.
